Social Security

Civil War Ended 160 Years Ago Today, But New Civil War Burgeoning Over Trump Tariff War On Middle And Working Class! :(

Ronald 5 Comments

Today, April 9, 1865–160 years ago—the American Civil War came to an end, with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

It is sad on this commemorative anniversary that America is engaged in a Tariff War with the entire world, undermining the American and world economy, as well as international diplomacy!

This burgeoning Tariff War endangers a breakdown in American society, as retirement accounts are destroyed, and as the social safety system of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other essential programs lie in disarray, undermining security for tens of millions of Americans.

With all of the guns millions of Americans own, the possibility of a new Civil War is horrifying, but a real possibility.

The tensions against the superwealthy will escalate by the middle and working classes, and the racial, ethnic, religious, and gender tensions that are being provoked, also represent a dire threat to the survival of American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law.

In Two Days, Trump Has Destroyed Tens Of Millions’ Economic Security!

Ronald 11 Comments

In just two days, Donald Trump has destroyed tens of millions’s economic security, with his Tariff Wars on the entire world, except, interestingly, for such authoritarian governments as the Russian Federation, Cuba, North Korea, and Belarus!

People’s retirement accounts and economic well being, regarding Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and so much else, are being systematically destroyed by the extremist right wing assault headed by Elon Musk, with Donald Trump’s endorsement.

THe nation and the world are in the grips of a maniacal, dangerous tyrant, who seems to have no concern for the damage he has wrought!

One of his unnamed White House aides used the F word, to say Donald Trump did not give a F—-about anyone who opposed what is doing, and that he is not going to change course.

This is a massive domestic and worldwide crisis that undermines everything decent that the United States has promoted and believed in!

Democrats, including Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Elizabeth Warren, Chris Murphy,—and Republicans, including Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, Thom Tillis, Chuck Grassley, Don Bacon—are sounding the alarm, and Congress must unite with Democrats and a handful of Republicans to stop the dangerous, destructive tariff wars that are undermining the American economy and well being of its citizens, as well as the world at large!

The Attack On Social Security By Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Absolutely Despicable! :(

Ronald 6 Comments

It is extremely disconcerting and highly outrageous that Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick ridiculed the idea that Americans would be upset if Social Security was not paid on time monthly in the future.

Lutnick said only “fraudsters” would be upset, and that his 94 year old mother in law would not complain if Social Security missed her monthly payment, as she would consider it a mistake and wait patiently for the next month!

Of course Howard Lutnick is a multibillionaire who can easily help his mother in law, but millions of people depend on Social Security for their survival, and have worked and earned what they gain in their old age or if disabled!

Elon Musk may call Social Security “A Ponzi Scheme”, but it is anything BUT that!

A personal note here, that I knew Howard Lutnick’s father 50 years ago before his death from cancer in 1979, as he was an historian of the American Revolution at my undergraduate alma mater, Queens College of the City University of New York.

I can assert as quite likely, knowing Sol Lutnick, a good man, that he would be furious if he knew that his son was so mean spirited, so selfish, so outrageous, so cocky, so infuraiting as Howard Lutnick is!

Trump State Of The Union Address: Highly Divisive And Lies, Lies, Lies! :(

Ronald 14 Comments

Donald Trump gave the longest State of the Union speech ever delivered last evening, about 9,900 words lasting about 100 minutes, surpassing Bill Clinton’s State of the Union speech in 2000.

The speech was highly, extremely divisive, unusual as Presidents usually try to promote a sense of unity when giving the State of the Union address, even with the opposition party, but instead Trump was gloating about his victory, which he exaggerated regarding its magnitude.

Trump, as usual, lied, lied, and lied some more, distorting and exaggerating reality, facts, and truth.

Trump lied about Joe Biden’s record, calling him the worst President in US History (which was an example of projection about himself).

Trump also took a dig against Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, the primary promoter of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, that became law under Barack Obama, but now is on the chopping block.

Trump also claimed that there are people over 100 years of age, up to 300 years old, who are collecting Social Security, a clearcut attack on that program that has existed for 90 years since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt. There is fear that Social Security may not be paid in future months, due to the claims of waste, fraud, and abuse that are totally preposterous, and with layoffs of civil service employees in that agency.

Trump also promoted the idea of seizing the Panama Canal and taking over Greenland from Denmark, which will antagonize Latin America and NATO respectively, as Trump promotes “imperialism”.

Watching the smirks of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance was infuriating, as the nation clearly is evenly divided, but there was no interest in crossing the aisle and promoting cooperation, with the Congress more divisive and the majority unconcerned about compromise and negotiation.

Trump’s promotion of tariffs with Canada, Mexico, and China will raise the cost of living dramatically, and soon, and goes against the record of history, that tariffs are counterproductive.

Plaudits to newly elected Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, who gave the Democratic response to the State of the Union, and introduced herself to the nation as a legislator who should be respected and paid attention to in the future of the Democratic Party.

The battle ahead for the average American taxpayer and families will be a long, bitter struggle, but the Democrats must not sit on the sidelines, but instead march, demonstrate, organize, and vigorously fight with every bone in their bodies against the extreme right wing tilt of the Republican Party, which has repudiated so much of their heritage over 170 years of their history from Abraham Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt to Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan!

Musk, Ramaswamy Want To Destroy Federal Programs, Must Be Prevented

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The unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), formed by Donald Trump, and headed by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy has no government authority, but is insanely proposing cutting the federal budget by up to $2 trillion, or one third of the total government spending, purely insane in nature!

Rather than raise taxes on billionaires and millionaires, including Musk and Ramaswamy, as well as other less wealthy, but prosperous Americans, so that they pay their “fair share”, Donald Trump wants another massive trillions of dollars tax cut for the elite wealthy, similar to his massive tax cuts in 2017, and earlier ones under George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

About one fourth of all of the national debt of America occurred under Donald Trump in his first term, and he is ready to add trillions to the national debt while cutting important programs.

Among those being targeted are:

Veterans Health Care
Drug Development and Opioid Addiction Treatment
State Department Funding
Housing Assistance
Justice Department Funding
Education Spending
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Health Care (Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama Care)
Federal Student Loan Program
International Security Programs
Head Start Program

Additionally, the goal is to cut the federal work force, get rid of talented and competent and experienced public servants, and hire lackeys who would do Donald Trump’s bidding, and in the process, promoting total chaos and anarchy in the federal government.

Also, some Republican members of Congress would love to get rid of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, programs adopted under Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson, and constantly the subject of attacks by right wing forces!

Democrats, while not the majority, must do whatever they can to prevent such outrageous actions, finding those Republicans in both houses who have principles and ethics, too few, but they are there!

This is a true existential crisis of massive proportions, and every effort imaginable must be waged to prevent such a disastrous set of circumstances that would destroy the federal government!

Our government cannot go back to “states rights”, which supposedly was resolved by the Civil War!

The Gilded Age was the late 19th century, and we cannot go back 150 years under any circumstances!

Trump’s Proposed Department Of Government Efficiency Headed By Musk And Ramaswamy A Threat To American Democracy!

admin 10 Comments

An attack on the federal bureaucracy has been proposed by Donald Trump, with his idea of a new Department of Government Efficiency, to be pursued by two billionaires—Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy!

This is an attack on American democracy and the authority of the legislative branch, as the proposal is to cut the federal budget by about one third, saving $2 trillion, out of a $6.5 trillion national budget!

There are very few public figures more oboxious, all knowing, and arrogant than Musk and Ramaswamy, and the irony is that they want to create a new government agency to cut funding on other government agencies, truly looney.

Ramaswamy wants to cut the Department of Education, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service, and also, overall, cut the federal work force by 75 percent.

That should, on its own, be enough to declare these two arrogant, super wealthy prima donnas, as totally off the wall lunatics, and the ideas they promoted are basically anarchistic in nature, and needs to be repudiated in an aggressive manner!

Massive cuts in Social Security and defense spending would be required under this lunatic plan, and instead, both Musk and Ramaswamy need to be told to go back to enrichment of their own fortunes, and leave the American people alone!

Project 2025: War On Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, FDA, Affordable Care Act

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This author and blogger will delineate over the next days and weeks just how destructive the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 would be if enacted, with Donald Trump fully aware of the details, despite his false claim that he has no knowledge of the ideas organized by his own supporters and allies.

Regarding basic social programs that have long existed, and are basic to the lives of tens of millions of Americans, Project 2025 promotes the following:

Privatization of Social Security
Raising the Retirement Age for Social Security
Cut Social Security benefits
Cut Medicare benefits
Repeal the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare)
Raise Prescription Drug Prices
Dismantle the Food and Drug Administration
Threaten Medicaid Coverage for hundreds of thousands of Americans
Privatize veterans’ healthcare
Reduce funding for public health programs

This is a declaration of war on Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Era; Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal; Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society; the reforms promoted by Barack Obama and Joe Biden; and on the Democratic Party promoted reforms that became law under Republican Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush (all having to deal with Democratic controlled Congresses).

Hooray! :) 14 Year Anniversary Of The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare)!

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Celebrations are in order for the 14 year Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), President Barack Obama’s greatest achievement, despite constant attempts of Republicans to destroy it over these years since 2010!

The Affordable Care Act now gives health coverage to 21 million Americans, and is a further extension of health care coverage beyond Medicare and Medicaid, all brought about due to Democratic Presidents, as well as Social Security!

It is not a perfect law, as nothing is, but far better than if these laws had never been passed.

And it is ironic that in 2017, it was a critic of the Affordable Care Act, Arizona Senator John McCain, who was the opponent of Barack Obama in the Presidential Election of 2008, who saved the legislation, and this just a year before his passing.

This anniversary is being celebrated by both President Obama and President Joe Biden, and everyone well knows that President Donald Trump tried so hard to destroy this legislation and coverage, and pledges to do so if he is returned to the Oval Office, along with threats against Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid being targeted yet once again by Republicans!

Two Crucial Democratic Issues That Can Be Used Against Donald Trump And Republicans—Abortion And Safety Net!

admin 5 Comments

With the Presidential Election 2024 campaign now in full swing, Democrats and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris need to put great emphasis on many issues, but two stick out in particular.

The right of women to control their own bodies and reproductive lives has been prevented by Donald Trump and his right wing appointments to the Supreme Court. But that battle already has seen several states reject abortion limitations:

Vermont
Ohio
Kentucky
Michigan
Kansas
Montana
California

And this abortion rights struggle is a massive commitment that must be fought in state after state!

Also, the issue of protection of the social safety net,specifically Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, has been a constant battle for decades, as Republicans have continued to attempt to cut funding and take away these wonderful programs started by Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal in the 1930s, and Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society in the 1960s!

2024 Presidential Election Crucial As Were 1864 And 1964 Elections, And They Were Election Landslides!

admin 2 Comments

One could argue that every Presidential Election is significant in some shape or form, but certain elections stand out as turning points in the promotion of American democracy.

Such are the Presidential Elections of 1864 and 1964, and now moving forward, 2024!

In all three, the sustaining of American democracy was crucial, and in the first two cases, the results, after much concern, were massive landslides, hopefully setting the scene for 2024!

In 1864, Republican Abraham Lincoln was running for reelection in the midst of the American Civil War, with his opponent being General George McClellan, who was resentful of his firing for poor performance from Union Army leadership, and represented to many the Confederate hope of pulling out victory late in the Civil War.

Lincoln was so concerned that victory was unattainable, that he decided to replace Vice President Hannibal Hamlin with a Southern Loyalist Democrat Andrew Johnson, and the Republicans invited War Democrats into the party by changing their name to the National Union Party.

The end result was a landslide with Lincoln winning all but three states, winning 55 percent of the vote, and an Electoral College majority of 212-21!

A century later, President Lyndon B. Johnson, having succeeded to the Presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy less than a year earlier, faced the most right wing Republican contender for the Presidency in modern times, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who advocated ending the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, including Social Security, and also opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Johnson went on to a landslide victory, winning 61.1 percent of the popular vote, the all time high, and 44 of 50 states and 486-52 in the Electoral College, but with five Southern states going to Goldwater, the beginning of the political realignment that has made the South solidly Republican ever since, with only a few exceptions when Democrats nominated Southerners for the Presidency, including Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

Johnson went on to promote the Great Society, a massive increase in government programs, way beyond the New Deal of FDR.

Now in 2024, with the Republican Party being the most extreme right wing since Goldwater, and arguably more so, Joe Biden faces a challenge not only on a personal level, but also on overcoming the menace of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, who have repudiated the original basis of the Republican Party’s founding, opposing slavery and its expansion, and instead promoting racism and nativism 170 years after the origins of the party in Michigan and Wisconsin in 1854!